>> hello. you're tuned into "global 3000" -- your weekly look at the global issues that affect us all. welcome. i'm michaela küfner, and today we look at why south africa's struggle for democracy is long from over -- two decades after its first free elections. and here's what else is coming up. being gay in africa. we find out how dangerous that can still be. going wild again. german zoologists help save a rare horse breed from extinction.

and china's generation gap. how the new middle class sees the world. celebrate. it's been 20 years now since the first free elections saw nelson mandela become president. no doubt the country has come a long way since then. its constitution-making process was such a success that it has become a role model for democracy, now much referred to in many arab spring countries. and yet the new south africa is struggling to deliver the equal opportunities it promised to everyone. millions of black voters still feel left behind and the call for jobs and more opportunities is growing louder. as south africans go to the polls in a general election on may 7, many people are making their voices heard. we met two who do that in a very

special way. >> this is soweto -- south africa's largest township. more than one million people live here. many consider soweto the home of the anti-apartheid movement. in 2002, a memorial and a museum opened here to honor hector peterson, a 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police during a demonstration in 1976. thabo manoto and rennie alexander are both poets, and they visit the memorial often. they use their poetry to fight for social justice. >> i believe i have one skill. i have one talent that can change the world, and that is my words. i can take a picture such as this and translate it and put emotion in it and make people understand the emotional turmoil people are going through, but at the same time they had the courage to stand up for what they believe. so i think as a poet i am able to change the world with my words. >> their works encourage the people of south africa to stand

up for their rights. >> i am walking towards a mountain called truth. it is crumbling and i am losing ground, but a prometheus heart beats inside me with the goal to never give up till i get light to the people of the setting sun. the clouds obscuring my vision. i have lost my way, but i left breadcrumbs for others to be able to perform a rendition of my life's' work. a fiction, a fairy tale, the dream of a child to find peace in the darkest abyss. >> i'm aiming to change people's mindsets. people who live in squatters like this because i'd like them to think in a way that will help them to invest more in their future and stop thinking as a poor person because it is possible to get out of such a place. when i see things like this, i get hurt because i'm a fellow south african. i'm a fellow black person. i was just discussing with rennie. it really is very painful seeing

huge poverty on the right-hand side and directly to the left you see kentucky fried chicken which basically illustrates the effect that capitalism can have. it can be glamorous, and it can be very, very, very gloomy. >> i have to sleep with a gun in my hand to protect my young cousins from rape statistics. i am protesting against the so called liberation and asking for ten differences between dictatorship and democracy. let's hang these shakers and movers for taxing bread winners for their own ambitions. >> politics affects my poetry in that sense that i get to expose scandals and corruption that is happening in my country so i can inform the general public about the negative effect that politics has on the general stage of the world. >> i share rennie's sentiments exactly because politics affects me not only as a writer and a performer but also as a citizen.

i mean our president just spent $245 million to renovate his house. i feel more could have been done with that money to uplift his people. >> "open mic" shows are popular in many parts of south africa. they are a showcase where writers and poets can present their works to the public -- and a platform for expressing criticism of the current social and political system. thabo and rennie believe south africa is moving in the right direction, but needs more reforms. they're confident that this will happen. >> look, i definitely believe it will, because in south africa we are fighters. we come from a history of challenge, and we overcame, and we will overcome once more. >> i think in time this country will go to a future which is more prosperous in all aspects, so change is very much inevitable. i love where it's going. i just don't like where it is right now.

>> thabo and rennie are using words as weapons in their fight for a better south africa. >> we stay in the region. many gays and lesbians in africa immediately face persecution if they openly admit to being homosexual. that usually means beatings, torture, or imprisonment. about a third of countries around the world apply harsh laws against homosexuality. that's according to the international lesbian and gay association. being gay is even punishable by death in seven of those countries. four of those are in africa. the rainbow nation of south africa has a complex history regarding gay rights. here gays and lesbians enjoy legal recognition, but that doesn't always translate onto the streets where many feel threatened. we spoke to a few who shared their stories and found that in south africa, as well, there's still a lot to fear.

for years, he's been living in a camp near cape town. but he has to keep much of his private life to himself. that's because pukkie is gay. in fact, that's why he left zimbabwe. >> when i was 18 years, the police catch us coming from a party with my friend and we were in drag. they asked us, what is happening? are you a gay? what's happening? then my friend said, "yeah, we are gay." then after that they arrested us. they tortured us. they put our heads inside the water so that, when they were beating us, we must not cry loudly. some people they must not hear. then my friend he passed away. we just stay in police custody for about two weeks. then my friend died. he just died.

to this day, he's not sure why. pukkie says he led a sheltered life as a child. his father was a soldier. pukkie tells us his life-story, including details of how and why he became a prostitute, working streets like this one. >> i was a sexworker. understand. it was not easy by that time. the situation, i never told my mama what i am doing to be a sexworker, even to my father. it was a little bit strange to me, but i didn't have a choice. i was supposed to do it through the situation because i was not working really. i was desperate for the money. >> one of pukkie's clients infected him with hiv. he stopped working as a prostitute about a year ago. networks for gay refugees in south africa, but an

organization called "passop" tries to help where it can. "passop" provides counseling and other services. they also help new refugees find a place to live. think there is a lot of challenge especially with documentation issues because when they arrive in south africa first they need to apply for asylum. many of them they are starting to get refugee status. also after that, there is the issue of a lot of discrimination in connection to finding job opportunities in south africa. once they apply for a position if they discover that they are lgbti, they don't want to take them. >> robina is also looking for work. she came to south africa from uganda. she doesn't want us to show her face. she's afraid of the authorities.

robina says it was difficult to leave her homeland, but she had no other choice. >> this is my album. this is me. i was playing with national team of uganda. why i left my country is because i am a lgbti-member, and there's laws which don't allow gays and lesbians in my country. >> gays and lesbians who are convicted under sexual preference laws in uganda face prison sentences of at least 14 years. law and lived in constant fear that she'd be arrested. forced her to leave uganda. >> when i was in uganda, i was dating a lady.

the daughter of one of the government members. >> robina knows that south africa has one of the most liberal sexual-preference laws in the world, but those laws don't provide much protection for her. time to walk around by the station. then i met the guys and they asked me, "why are you wearing clothes like a guy? are you a tom-boy?" i didn't reply. then they start to hold me and to rape me. it was so painful, but i never report it to the police. >> sometimes, robina plays football with other refugees. none of the men know that she's a lesbian. if they found out, it could have serious consequences for her.

is spreading in south africa. fundamentalist christian groups, including some based in the u.s., are speaking out against what they see as a violation of god's law. >> the christian right is now looking to africa as a place where they can mobilize support for their own causes. mobilize support for their pro-family politics which are explicitly homophobic. >> nigeria recently toughened its laws on sexual preference, so emmanuel okoye packed up and left for cape town. and he did it just in time. a number of his friends were later arrested. emmanuel still hasn't found a place to live. he doesn't have a job, so he has no money. he has to resort to begging to get by. >> cape town is a very beautiful city. but as i am sitting, i am sitting with nothing.

the people that i meet want to have sex with me before they help me. and my family wants me to join in drugs so that i can be able to make a living in this town. but i said no. i don't need that. so as you are seeing me, i am left with nothing. >> this is not the kind of life that emmanuel expected when he arrived here, but he says it's better than being in prison. many african gays and lesbians come to south africa to escape discrimination, but they often find that the "rainbow nation" fails to live up to its reputation as a safe haven. over the past several decades have made it the world's second largest economy. economic disparities still exist across the country, but a burgeoning middle class has emerged as a result of continued

growth. according to its own figures, some 250 million people in china are living much better lifestyles than their parents did. we visited three generations of one family in beijing to hear how they see the rapid transformation of their country. >> two parents, one child. a typical chinese family. zhao wen-hua is 50. for years, she worked as an executive assistant at a real-estate company. now, she's enjoying her retirement. her husband, chen bin, works in the radiology department of a beijing hospital. the couple's 20-year-old daughter bei-bei is studying chemistry. this family belongs to china's increasingly wealthy middle class. >> our generation was fortunate to be born in the 1960's. we grew up as china was launching major reforms. then there was the economic

boom. when we graduated from university, there were lots of good jobs. the cost of living was still low. and we were able to lead the kind of life we wanted. for zhao's mother, wei shu-qin. she's 83 and has raised four children. her generation survived japanese occupation, civil war, and a harsh life under mao ze-dong. she likes to exercise in a nearby park. when she's up to it, she joins the tai-chi group. high-rise apartment building in 2004. her new home even has central heating. wei worked in the textile industry, and she still likes to sew. she's proud of what china has become. >> in the old days, we often

didn't have enough to eat. we were hungry. today, you can buy anything -- and prices aren't that bad. our country is rich now. >> all of her children are professionally successful, and they take care of their mother. her second son even brought her along when he visited europe 10 years ago. she had a hard life. but right now, she's happy. chen bin likes to relax by playing badminton with friends twice a week. tai chi, table-tennis, and badminton are all popular in china. but people meet privately to pursue their pastimes because there are few organized activities. chen drives back home in his suv, a "hover" model built by the chinese automaker "great wall." chen has lots of material possessions, but he misses the

social cohesion of the old days. something, i'd just go over to a neighbor's house and borrow it -- and they'd do the same with me. it was a real community. but today, i don't know anything about my neighbors. i don't even know what they do for a living. residential district in the beijing suburbs. nearby. zhao enjoys buying fresh produce here. she stocks up on greens. she and chen are having a few of their friends over for dinner. rather buy at a supermarket she trusts. many chinese like to go out to a restaurant for dinner, but zhao and chen prefer to entertain at

home. it's more personal. they're even serving pizza because their friends aren't that familiar with western food. they show videos of their last vacation. they spent three weeks driving around yunnan province and eastern tibet. >> we travel wherever we like. that's real freedom. >> i love to drive. on our last trip, i set out to do all the driving myself. >> during dinner, chen and zhao discuss their next trip -- a visit to western tibet. they've become especially fond of the mountainous region. it's a long drive, but it's also full of adventure. security and stability and to play by the rules. never, ever, take risks. maybe that's not the case today.

these kinds of adventures may not be so bad after all because they challenge us to try new things. >> bei-bei uses the subway to commute to and from her classes. she'll soon earn her bachelor's degree in chemistry. after that, she'll study for her master's. perhaps overseas. in her free time, she likes to sing karaoke. today, she's brought along a couple of friends. she used to have a boyfriend, but they broke up during her first year of college. still, she likes to sing love songs. >> karaoke relaxes you. i live with several other people in one room, and i always have to be quiet and show respect. but here, you can really cut

loose. >> sure, we all have dreams. but will they come true? we all want a boyfriend who's good-looking and rich, but how are we going to find him? >> what i want to do most of all is travel the world with my friends, or with a boyfriend, and learn everything i can. >> bei-bei's generation will be able to take advantage of opportunities that their parents could only dream about. china's future truly belongs to them. >> now forget mustangs, the mongolian wild horse is the only truly wild horse left in the world. like so many other species, they were almost extinct. when the population was down to about only a dozen left, a team

of zoologists from berlin was among those who stepped in and managed to pull them back from the brink. now the challenge is getting them back into the wild. we check in with those determined to see them run free again. >> you guys are pretty frisky today. you can tell that they're wild animals. dinner is served! >> animal keeper rene walther thought he knew what horses like to eat. but today, they're even ignoring their favorite food -- carrots. the last of these horses was captured in the 1960's and taken

to a zoo. they would have died out if european zoos hadn't developed an extensive breeding program. humans nearly wiped them out, so it was up to humans to save them. >> people took over the horses' natural habitat and hunted them to the point where they nearly became extinct. that's why you don't find them in the wild anymore. people at zoos and similar facilities felt obligated to try to help them to return to nature, just like they've done with other species. >> but behavioral biologist dr. anne berger says teaching them to survive on their own is going to require a lot of work. some of the horses are housed on this game preserve near berlin. they're fenced in for their own safety. new horses have a hard time fitting in here. for example, it doesn't occur to them to put on extra fat as

winter approaches. >> they're used to life at the zoo where they get regular meals. and they figure it's too much work to put on all that fat for winter. so they stroll around the meadows instead. they don't take things seriously during the first year, but they sure do during the second! >> scientists have conducted extensive research to try to determine exactly how the przewalski horses will have to adapt to be able to survive in the wild. they've outfitted this trough with various devices that allow them to find out how much water each individual horse drinks. a scale in the floor measures the horses' weight gain as they drink. dr. berger says horses that drink a lot of water probably wouldn't do well in a natural environment that's dry. there are other problems -- like the horses' hooves -- that would complicate life in the wild. >> at certain times of the year,

their hooves grow way too long. that makes it really difficult for them to run properly. they slow down and trip over their own legs. that makes it tough for them to survive in the wild. it makes them easy prey for predators. >> the przewalski horses are native to the steppes of central asia -- and specifically, mongolia. there, the horses are called "takhi" -- which means "spirit." efforts continue to resettle the horses in their natural habitat. but there have been problems. at first, the horses couldn't adapt to extreme mongolian winters -- and many of them died. but they learned to adapt to the weather, to predators, and to the inhospitable landscape. there are now an estimated 3,000 przewalski horses worldwide.

dr. berger is pretty pleased about that. she's known this horse -- called alina -- for 22 years. alina will probably stay here at the game reserve near berlin for the rest of her life. but some of the other animals may be sent to mongolia. it won't be easy for dr. berger to see them go. >> it's like when your children leave home. you're both happy and sad. >> perhaps dr. berger and other experts can apply the lessons they've learned here to help preserve other endangered animals. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> that was "global 3000" for this week. thanks for watching. bye, bye.gg99ññwççñmwéñ cc?